Shut up and practice!

Most of us don’t have the raw natural talent to become great players without working at it. If you’re good, you practice.

If you want to be good, you practice. You won’t begetting better if you’re not practicing. And meanwhile, somebody else, who may beat you in the future, is putting in that practice time.

If you actually want to get better, you’ll make time for practice. 15 minutes of concentrated practice will do more for your game than hours of play.

“OK. I practice. I drill a few straight-ins, shoot a copula spot shots, try a cross-side bank, and I’m ready to play,” you might say. I’d say this is all useful, but it’s not practice.

It’s checking out the equipment and your stroke.

Many players practice by throwing a few balls on the table and trying to run them out.

Other times, they shoot low percentage shots. This is fun stuff. When you succeed, you look good and feel good.

When you fail, well, it was a low percentage shot, what the hey?

This type of practice is getting you nowhere.

If you only practice what you’re already good at, you’ll look great, but your game will not improve.

Practicing what’s easy is too easy. On the other hand, don’t spend your practice time on extremely difficult shots.

You’re going to miss them and not know why. You won’t get better, and with all that missing, you won’t be building your confidence.

Practicing failure is not a good idea. What types of things should you practice?

Practice the things you do worst. This is obvious, but how many players actually do this?

How else are you going to get better at them? Improving your worst things will raise your entire game.

How about practicing that shot that cost you the match, that angle you always see wrong, shooting softly, shooting hard, getting position when the object ball is hanging in the corner pocket, drawing more accurately, remembering to plan at least three balls ahead, checking where your tip is actually hitting the cueball (vs. what you believe), experimenting with controlling sidespin, jumping, curving, rail shots, kicks, banks,etc.

There is enough to keep you engaged for a lifetime.

So, there’s banging balls around the table, and then there’s practice.

BCA Master Instructor Jerry Briesath says “Perfect practice makes perfect.” He means you get better not just because you practice, but because you practice the right things, in an effective way.

I say “Practice makes permanent.” You have to “burn in” yourimprovements, or they will fade away.

Often, the most effective way to practice is what’s called “progressive practice.”